Northern Ireland will be run by a majority unionist executive should DUP leader Ian Paisley take over the office of first and deputy first minister with Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness by the deadline of Monday fortnight, writes Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor.
British government ministers will now embark on an intensive round of carrot-and-stick negotiations with the parties, particularly with the Democratic Unionist Party, to create the conditions where devolution can be restored by March 26th.
Last night however Dr Paisley was still refusing to say whether powersharing would happen by the deadline.
The British and Irish governments have insisted that without powersharing the new Assembly would dissolve on March 26th and direct rule would continue, with an enhanced role for Dublin.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern held talks with British prime minister Tony Blair in Brussels yesterday. Mr Ahern said: "It is very clear the people want the issues that are important to them - everyday issues of education, and health, and water rates, and other local issues - that they want those issues dealt with by the people they elected,"
Mr Blair commented: "The mandate that is being given to the parties from the people of Northern Ireland is get on and do the business for us."
The DUP and Sinn Féin capped a hugely successful Assembly election campaign by winning 36 and 28 seats respectively when counting concluded yesterday evening.
On the first day of counting on Thursday, the DUP and Sinn Féin saw off the respective challenge of unionists opposed to powersharing with Sinn Féin and to "dissident" republicans opposed to policing.
By last night they had also inflicted serious political damage on their main respective rivals, the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP.
The UUP's seat tally plummeted from 24 to 18 - 18 behind the DUP. While the SDLP drop in seats was less dramatic, from 18 to 16 - 12 behind Sinn Féin - it means that unionists will have six ministers in any new executive while nationalists will run four departments.
The DUP is entitled to four departments and the UUP to two based on the d'Hondt proportional system of allocating ministries. Sinn Féin's total of departments is three while the SDLP is only entitled to one ministry. Had the SDLP managed to take more seats than the UUP, or even the same number, it would have been entitled to two departments compared to one for the UUP.
The Alliance party performed very well in the elections, winning seven seats, one up on 2003, including a seat for Chinese candidate Anna Lo in South Belfast. New Progressive Unionist Party leader Dawn Purvis held the late David Ervine's seat in East Belfast while independent local hospital candidate Dr Kieran Deeny held his seat in West Tyrone.
Brian Wilson achieved a breakthrough for the Greens winning a first seat for the party in North Down, where UKUP leader Robert McCartney lost his seat.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain held separate talks with Mr Adams and Dr Paisley yesterday to sound out the prospects of the March 26th deadline being met.
The DUP is due to meet Mr Blair next week while all the parties are also scheduled to meet the British chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown, to seek a multibillion financial package for Northern Ireland.
Over the past two days Dr Paisley and several other DUP politicians insisted that before powersharing could happen, Sinn Féin must make a stronger commitment to support the PSNI.
Again, DUP politicians such as Peter Robinson and Jeffrey Donaldson complained about Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew's recent comments that she would not notify the police if she observed a gang of armed dissident republicans intent on paramilitary action.
"There is conditionality" about Sinn Féin support for the police, said Mr Robinson.
Mr Adams said he would "not tolerate this ongoing nonsense of seizing upon utterances and just reinventing an insatiable list of totally bogus demands". He nonetheless added that if the DUP had genuine concerns, Sinn Féin would address them.
"When the executive is put in place, Sinn Féin ministers will take a pledge of office and Sinn Féin ministers will honour that pledge of office," he added, referring to the pledge which requires a commitment "to uphold the rule of law . . . including support for policing and the courts".
Mr Hain again warned that the options were between devolution and dissolution on March 26th and that there could be no extending the deadline.
"It would be tremendous tragedy for the politics and the people of Northern Ireland if the message they gave to their politicians on Wednesday and over the past few days was spurned, and the politicians turned their backs on the people. That would be an absolute tragedy," he said.